


You Can Finally Meet My Mom

by bluetoast



Series: Birds of a Feather [49]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Heaven is a wonderful place, Mary Winchester loves junk food, bread pudding is a plot point
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-17
Updated: 2014-05-17
Packaged: 2018-01-25 09:52:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1644527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluetoast/pseuds/bluetoast
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ignacia's in Heaven, but it's not what she expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Can Finally Meet My Mom

Ignacia grew up believing Heaven was something like a city in the clouds. Stained glass and gardens everywhere – you could see friends and family, people you'd never met and things would be one unending party. She also thought that it would be but a moment in Heaven before being reunited with people she had left behind. That apparently, wasn't true – none of it was true. Unless her perception of time was being seriously altered and each minute that passed was something like a year on Earth. She couldn't tell. She also couldn't see things on Earth.

And apparently Heaven was a place where you relived the greatest times of your life, which was the only explanation her vision cleared and it was her wedding day again. Only to have it shift and become that arena in Sydney. 

For now, she was home – it was Halloween night and Dean was checking Liesel's candy while she brushed the girl's hair. It was such a simple, easy memory. The last holiday they all had before she got sick. It should be happy – it should be good, but to her, it just seemed... all so fake. This wasn't the real Liesel and that wasn't the real Dean, pretending to sneak a Snickers bar from the pile of candy on the table. 

“It's not exactly right, is it?” A voice came from behind her and she turned. 

“Who are you?” Standing in the doorway to the front hall was a small blond haired girl, looking to be close to Liesel's age. 

“I'm Alice.” She came over and squeezed her hand. “Alice Campbell.” She turned and looked at the scene at the table. “I'm Dean's aunt.” 

“Dean doesn't have any relatives on his biological mother's side.” Ignacia shook her head. “I don't...”

“I died before I was born.” She gave a shrug of her shoulders. “So basically, most of Heaven is one big playground for me.” 

“What are you doing here?” This was making less and less sense. 

“Well, I still haven't found my big sister and as for our parents... well, I love them – but you can't stick around your parents all the time, am I right?”

“I suppose.” She turned back to the table. “I – it seems rather fake.”

“You know, it's not so bad.” Alice took her hand more firmly and led her from the house. “I've never known any different, so I can't really assess that.” 

“Where are we going?” They went outside and the neighborhood had changed. The houses, save her own, were gone – replaced by nothing but tall trees and a dirt path. 

“I can't go everywhere in Heaven, I can only make brief visits.” Alice skipped down the driveway and jumped onto the path. “That thing about it being a moment before reunion is sort of true. How long do you think you've been here?” 

“In Heaven?” Ignacia thought a moment. “It doesn't seem to be much longer than twenty-four hours.”

“Well, I can tell you that in those twenty-four hours, it's already been two years on Earth.” She turned around on the road and then stood with her arms behind her back, grinning. “I can't tell you where all this road leads, but at the end of it, Dean will be there – waiting.”

“How long will this road take me to walk?” Ignacia stepped onto the road, jumping when the house vanished behind her. 

“I don't know that either.” A small red ball suddenly appeared and she grabbed it. “Just keep going – and don't forget to stop and rest along the way.” She bounced the ball and started down the road in the opposite direction.

“You're not coming along?” Ignacia frowned. “I mean...”

Alice threw the ball into the air and caught it, her smile bright – the exact same smile she'd seen on Dean's face countless times. “I've got a ball game to play. By the time it's over, you could be at the end.” She turned and ran, vanishing an instant later.

“This is confusing.” Ignacia sighed and started down the road. “Two years – it's already been two years...” She shook her head as the road curved and then, surprisingly, the trees abruptly stopped and in the clearing was a sunken amphitheater. From where she stood at the top, she saw nothing but row upon row of empty seats, and down near the base, on a small dais, was a long sofa. “Odd...” She started down the steps towards the chairs, glancing at the stage, where a production she couldn't identify was ending. The music poured out from hidden speakers in quality that couldn't exist in a real place like this. 

There was a clunk that sounded like a bowl being set on a table and then came the sound of applause. One single person was cheering the performance. Ignacia had finally reached where the dais was located and saw a long table full of food in front of the chairs. She could smell it from where she stood – all of it smelled incredible and she had to wonder if the other person would be willing to share. “Excuse me?”

The person in the chair suddenly turned and looked at her, blinking in shock. “It's you!” 

“Pardon me?” Ignacia could only stare as the woman jumped down from her seat, ran to her and caught her up in a tight hug. The woman was six inches taller than her and had no problem picking her up and swinging her around like she weighed nothing.

“I've been wanting to meet you for ages!” She set her down and kissed both of her cheeks, the woman's face bright with joy. “You're exactly as I pictured you!”

It took her another second and then Ignacia realized who this woman was. “You're Mary – Dean's er – mother, right?”

“I told him and I'm telling you, I harbor no ill will towards Elisa Coulter. I thank God that she found my little boy and gave him the home and the love I wasn't able to.” Mary gave her another hug. “I'm just so happy to meet you – it's pronounced Ignacia, yes?”

“Yes. I...” She shifted on her feet. “What is this place?” She looked around. “I've never seen this theater in my life.”

“Neither have I.” Mary looked around, frowning. “I think it may be a lot of theaters combined.” She took her hand and led her up onto the dais. “I've only recently found this place and I've been catching up on movies and concerts...” She resumed her seat. “Care to join me?”

Ignacia sat down on the other side of the sofa, still feeling uncertain. “I – well, I was never big into movies – or theater, for that matter.” 

Mary gave her another hug. “I wasn't either. I'm not even into them now – but I was walking along the road, and well, it wasn't a theater performance – it was some sort of arena – could you explain the scoring system in gymnastics to me? The last gymnastic competition I watched was in 1976.” 

“I think so...” She turned to the stage and then blinked in surprise. “Wait, I know that man... that's Nicholas Hagerston – his little girl Amanda was in my class.” 

Mary looked as well. “I don't know this...” They watched as the stage was cleared, the man in question walked around, things appearing when he pointed in a certain place. “He must be the director of whatever this is.” 

“This is Heaven, shouldn't there be programs?” Ignacia leaned forward to look on the table, and a brightly colored piece of paper fluttered down between two bowls. “Well, that answers that.” She picked it up and glanced at the cover. “The Secret Garden – at Jefferson Davis High.” She frowned. “I know where that is too...” 

“Speaking of answers, do you know what's in that bread pudding?” Mary pointed to a bowl. “Because it's addictive and delicious and it's driving me crazy that I can't figure out what it is!”

She picked up a fork and stabbed at the pudding, taking a decent sized bite, and grinned faintly. “Dean and Elisa wouldn't tell me either.” She said, around a mouthful. “But if I had to guess, it's the use of challa bread. Which is ironic, considering that the Coulter Family have been Catholic since they started to exist.”

Mary chuckled. “There's something in there besides challa bread... I think it might be rum – is there rum in this?”

Ignacia snorted. “Your son wouldn't let me into the kitchen when he was making it. He wouldn't let Liesel into the kitchen either.” 

“Well, whatever is in there, it's amazing.” She settled back in the couch, holding her plate. “Even better is the fact that you can have serving after serving of this food – and you don't get full or a stomach ache or anything.” 

“I haven't thought much about...” Her voice cut off as she saw a wrapped sandwich. “Oh you have to be kidding me...” She picked up the item and pulled down the paper, her eyes wide. “It...” 

“What is it?” Mary took a small treat from her plate, watching her curiously. 

Ignacia took a tentative bite and then closed her eyes in bliss. “It is...” She looked up at the woman smiling. “It's the _exact_ same meat pie I had one afternoon in Sydney.” She chuckled. “I dreamed about this sandwich for years afterwards.” 

Mary chuckled and brushed the crumbs off her fingers and picked up the program where Ignacia had left it. “Oh...” 

“What is it?” Ignacia said around a mouthful of food.

“Look.” She held out the program, her finger pointing to the cast list. 

Ignacia took one look and her eyes widened. _Mary Lennox – Liesel Coulter_ “I don't...” She set her sandwich down and hugged herself. “How...”

Mary slid closer to her and wrapped her in her arms, resting her head on hers. “I know.” She hugged her, managing brave smile of her own as the first strains of music reached them. “I know.” She kissed the young woman on the top of her head. “She knows you would have been there if you could.”

“Da.” She took a deep breath. “Does it get easier?”

“A little.” The older woman smiled and they settled into the couch to watch. “I'm sort of new here myself.”


End file.
